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Historical ^ociet^ 



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THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY 
HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS 



Connecticut Valley 
Historical Society 

Springfield & Massachusetts 



A Maintenance Fund 

of 

One Hundred Thousand Dollars 

to be Established by 

Members and Friends of the 

Society 



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Committee 



W. F. Adams, President of the Society 

Edward S. Brewer 
Oscar B. Ireland 
Charles H. Barrows 
Col. John L. Rice 
William G. Wheat 
J. Brewer Corcoran 
Clifford B. Potter 
H. Curtis Rowley 
Col. Stanhope E. Blunt 



Col. Stanhope E. Blunt, Secretary 
Oscar B. Ireland, Treasurer 



Springfield Republican a 

Springfield Union b 

Springfield Homestead c 

Springfield Daily News d 




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Wesson $1,000,000 Gift 

TO 

The CONNECTICUT VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 
MAPLE STREET MANSION OFFERED 
J. PIERPONT MORGAN CONTRIBUTES j5io,ooo 



Provision That the Society Raise Endowment Fund of $100,000 

for Maintenance — Finest Home in the Country 

for Such an Organization 



THE imposing residence of the late Daniel B. Wesson at 
50 Maple street has been given to the Connecticut Valley 
Historical Society, according to an announcement made at 
the meeting of the directors of the association at the Union 
Trust Company's building yesterday afternoon. The gift is 
provisional to the raising by the society of a permanent fund 
of ^100,000, the income of which is to be used for maintenance. 
J. Pierpont Morgan has already offered to give ^10,000 toward 
this fund and the gift of the general committee of the 275th 
anniversary, amounting to ^250, is also available. The com- 
mittee appointed to raise the fund consists of William F. 
Adams, president of the society, Edward S. Brewer, Oscar B. 
Ireland, Charles H. Barrows, Col. John L. Rice, William 
G. Wheat, James Brewer Corcoran, Clifford B. Potter, H. 
Curtis Rowley and Col. Stanhope E. Blunt. 

According to the president of the society, the building is 
splendidly adapted for exhibiting the valuable collections that 
are now in possession of the society, or have been promised 
as soon as suitable accommodations could be provided. The 
recent exhibit in connection with the anniversary shows some- 
thing of the wealth of material available. No changes will 



be made in the building as none are needed. With the large 
number of rooms available the collections can be housed prac- 
tically by themselves and in places ideally suited for them. 
This is a source of satisfaction to the Wesson heirs as well as 
to the society as the permanence of the house in its present 
form is assured for all time. The building will be by far the 
most costly owned by a historical society in the country. At 
Worcester the society there has just completed a new building 
that cost ^300,000. The Wesson house cost approximately 
^1,000,000. The society will have no burden of taxes to meet, 
as buildings for such purposes come within the exempted list. 

The house was built by the late D. B. Wesson, the noted 
manufacturer of the Smith & Wesson revolver. It is much the 
most expensive residence in the city and on the finest resi- 
dential street, yet also so close to the center, the city library 
and the art museum, that it is very convenient for the pur- 
pose to which it is to be put. The building was about 10 years 
under construction and In every particular was the best that 
could be secured at any price. Bruce Price of New York was 
the architect. The material is Mllford pink granite, the most 
durable stone that could be found. 

The historical society was organized In 1876 and has a 
membership now of about 300. J. Pierpont Morgan is one 
of the life members. It was organized "to procure and pre- 
serve whatever may relate to the natural, civil, military, 
ecclesiastical and genealogical history of the country, and 
especially of the territory in the Connecticut valley, and also 
to prepare and preserve correct reports of annals of passing 
events of Importance." The home of the society has been 
somewhat uncertain for years. At present it Is using part of 
the art museum for some of its collections. It has a vast 
amount of material, however, that It has never had room to 
make available to the public. There are scores of people also 
who have said that they would be glad to contribute if there 
was a place suitable for their gifts. The society has Issued 



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Main Doorway 




Carriage Doorway 



three volumes of "Papers and Proceedings." The first of 
325 pages covers the years 1876 to 1881. The second of 309 
pages covers the years 1882 to 1893. The third, covering 
1894 to 191 1, is now in press. It also issued in 1907 "Poets 
and Poetry of Springfield," and in 1909, "History of Spring- 
field in Massachusetts for the Young," by Charles H. Barrows. 

The public gifts of the Wessons to the city now amount 
to more than ^2,000,000. The Wesson memorial hospital cost 
$400,000. The Wesson maternity hospital cost $200,000. 
The two have also been endowed in the sum of $450,000. 
This latest gift of the costly residence completes the list to 
date. 

Costly and Magnificent Interior 

The house, which was built in 1898, is set in spacious 
grounds and the interior corresponds in magnificence and 
costliness to the outside. The rooms throughout are high and 
large and finished with rare and beautiful woods. Mr, Wesson 
was a lover of beautiful woods and filled his home with rich 
specimens of native and foreign varieties. Beautiful tapes- 
tries and paintings enhance the richness of the rooms and the 
furniture is made to correspond with the woodwork. The 
walls above the wainscoting are covered with tapestries, 
frescoes or figured satin and there are lovely marble mantles 
and beautifully colored hangings. The floors are of quartered 
oak, with the exception of the salon, which has a floor of white 
mahogany. 

The house is built in the style of Louis XIV. Passing 
through the massive outer door and through the vestibule 
flanked with silver lamps, one enters a large hall, 20 by 30 feet. 
This hall is floored, wainscoted and ceiled with oak, except 
for small spaces near the ceiling, where tapestries are hung. 
A great fireplace with a mantel of Verde antique marble is on 
the right, and a heavy carved mirror hangs at the left. From 
the main hall extend side halls ornamented with carved oak 



walnscotings and tapestry like the main hall. At the north of 
the hall is the reception room, finished in Greek style and 
wainscoted in satinwood. The walls are covered with green 
satin and the mantel is of rose aurora marble with an overman- 
tel of satinwood. At the south of the main hall is the salon, 
finished in the style of Louis XV, with panels of white enameled 
cherry ornamented with gilt, and a floor of white mahogany. 
The ceiling is decorated with a beautiful figure painting by 
the artist Tojetti of New York, and there is a mantel of rose 
aurora marble. The salon and reception rooms are the same 
size, 19 by 22 feet, and each has a tower 15 feet in diameter 
at the corner farthest from the hall. 

The large library, done in colonial style, is at the south- 
west corner of the first floor. The high walnscotings here are 
of oak and tapestry, and the north wall is covered with oak 
bookcases. The mantel is of Sienna marble and the ceiling 
is decorated with paintings and supported by oak beams. 
The dining-room leads out of a side hall at the right of the 
main staircase and is one of the richest rooms on the floor. 
It is finished in San Domingo mahogany and has a wainscoting 
of red wood about eight feet high, with the beautiful grain of 
the wood showing in long, smooth panels. A sideboard is 
built into the wall at the north end of the room and on the east 
side is a handsome table. The mantel, of mahogany and 
Verde antique marble, stands at the south side of the room. 
The predominating colors in the tapestry and hangings is 
green and this color is also brought out in the painting on the 
ceiling. The L-shaped butler's pantry is north of the dining- 
room and north of this is a large kitchen with coal and gas 
ranges, the former having a huge hood of glazed brick sup- 
ported by iron beams in the ceiling. The storeroom and a 
pantry with a refrigerator built into the wall are east of the 
kitchen. 

The beautiful staircase which leads from the head of 
the main hall has balustrades of heavy carving, and ascends 



with several landings to the second floor. The staircase is 
surrounded with windows of art glass, and is arched with a 
skylight of the same on the third floor. On the second floor 
there are six spacious sleeping-rooms and four bathrooms, 
besides the upper hall. All the rooms are wainscoted, and the 
furniture of each room matches the woodwork of the room. 
Some of the most lovely woods in the house are to be seen on 
this floor. The hall is done in oak, and the north room is in 
Circassian walnut, a dark wood with a rich grain something 
like our black walnut. Above the wainscot the wall is covered 
here with golden bronze satin. The mantel is of Japanese 
marble. The west chamber is in bird's-eye maple, the door 
panels being especially handsome. The mantel is of pink 
Italian marble, and the walls are done in blue satin. 

There are two chambers on the east side, one finished in 
white mahogany and old rose satin with a mantel of pink 
Sienna marble and the other finished in Circassian walnut 
with red satin and a Verde antique mantel. The room at the 
southeast corner is done in satinwood with green satin for a 
wall covering and a mantel of Mexican onyx. The room at 
the southwest corner contains one of the richest displays of 
rare wood in the house. It is finished in East Indian ma- 
hogany, a lovely wood with a pronounced grain and a varied 
color. The walls and hangings are of gold-colored satin and 
the mantel is of Sienna marble. The largest bathroom on 
the floor is situated between the two last-mentioned rooms. 
It is 12 feet by 12 and, like the others, is floored with mosaic 
and wainscoted with Sienna marble. The woodwork is of 
satinwood and the fittings are of silver. 

The rooms on the third floor comprise six sleeping-rooms, 
a bathroom, a sitting-room, a storeroom and a linen closet, 
13 feet square. The wainscoting here is of quartered oak and 
the rooms are larger than those in an ordinary house. Above 
the third floor hall, which is large, there is a garret which has 
been finished. The great basement of the house contains a 



laundry, servants' bathroom and a vegetable closet of Mr. 
Wesson's own devising, in which the temperature is regulated 
by thermostat. The house is furnished with every modern 
convenience. It is heated with hot water from a furnace in 
the stables and fresh air is supplied from a large duct running 
down the front of the house, passing ii feet under the base- 
ment floor and connecting with air shafts for the radiators, 
which are in the walls of the house except in the third floor, 
where they are inclosed in oak panels. The house is lighted 
with both gas and electricity and there are 30 buttons on the 
switchboard in the main hall which controls the system. 
There is a hydraulic elevator running from the basement to 
the third floor to complete the equipment. 




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Third Landing, Main Hall 



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Another Wesson Benevolence 



The gift of the Wesson mansion in Maple street to the 
Connecticut Valley Historical Society, announcement of 
which was made yesterday by President W. F. Adams of the 
society, adds one more to the long list of benevolences to be 
credited to the estate of the late Daniel B. Wesson. This 
gift is from the surviving children of Mr. Wesson, the direct 
heirs to this property, and is in keeping with the philanthropic 
provisions made by their father before his death and in his 
will. The mansion, a very palace in design and construction, 
costing a round million dollars, with its spacious grounds, an 
acre in extent, is ideally adapted to the purposes of an his- 
torical library and museum in which may be preserved the 
priceless records and relics of the early history of the Connecti- 
cut valley and the no less important historical data of later 
periods. 

It is a gift not only to the society, but to the entire popu- 
lation of the valley, and its value will be more and more real- 
ized with the lapse of years. The society is requested to raise 
^100,000 for the maintenance of the property, and has already 
received from J. Pierpont Morgan a contribution of ^10,000 
toward this fund. Mr. Morgan, whose ancestors were among 
the early settlers in the Connecticut valley, is a member of 
the society, and has manifested a keen interest in its object 
and work. The task of raising the remaining ^90,000 ought 
not to be difficult. Indeed, the public spirit which inspired 
the gift of this ^1,000,000 estate to so worthy a cause ought 
to be reflected in an immediate and generous response to the 
society's appeal for contributions to the maintenance fund. 

Springfield will be especially proud of this new addition 
to its public institutions, and with Springfield the cities and 
towns of the Connecticut valley will unite in a feeling of 
gratitude to the Wesson heirs for this munificent benefaction. 



Building Better Than He Knew 



The good fortune of the Connecticut Valley Historical 
Society in receiving the gift of the magnificent Wesson house 
is generally pleasing. It is recognized as a peculiarly suitable 
disposition of an edifice which stands in a peculiar relation 
to the recent history of the city and which is peculiarly adapted 
to the purposes for which the historical society designs it. 
The general approval of the gift should leave no question as to 
the carrying out of the conditions or the understanding which 
is that the society raise a fund of ^100,000 for maintenance 
and care. The object is recognized as being so worthy of 
support that it is doubtful if a strong appeal has to be made 
to the public spirited people of the city and vicinity who are 
interested in the good work of the historical society and in its 
possibilities. 

This disposition of the Wesson house is also a rather im- 
pressive example of the unexpected manner in which things 
often work out even in the brief history of a generation or 
two. The shrewdest and wisest men never know as they are 
planning and studying what is to be the ultimate development 
of that to which they are giving so much of their time and 
study. We may imagine that to the construction of this 
splendid dwelling the late Mr. Wesson gave much of the strong 
mental powers and of the keen business ability for which he 
was noted. We can fancy how the project grew in his mind, 
how carefully the details were worked out, and how at every 
step the plans were made with the consciousness that it was 
a home making. It was the working out of one of the most 
elevating of ambitions and a man puts much of his personality 
and of his feelings into a house which he is building for his 
home. In many ways it is often the most intelligible index 
to his character and to his nature. 



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In the building few men stop to think of what is to ulti- 
mately become of the work in which they are engaged, but, 
even if there is a dream or a vision or an ambition, its uncer- 
tainties can not fail to be impressive. The purpose of even the 
greatest minds do not reach clearly beyond the grave. There 
is no telling how the ideas of one generation may adapt them- 
selves to the conditions of another. 

It is thus that sometimes men build better than they 
know at the time. Whether there is a Providence that works 
in the affairs of men or not it is a fact often noted that the 
results of individual endeavor are vastly greater than could 
be imagined and very much different. It is hardly possible 
that the late Mr. Wesson could have dreamed as he planned 
and carried to completion his beautiful residence that he was 
really providing a future home for the historical society. He 
knew that he was at least building well, and there is the lesson 
for the men of any generation. Good work is never lost. On 
the other hand, the results of it are always better than can 
be realized by him who works. 




Wesson Home is Bestowed 

$1,000,000 

MANSION ON MAPLE STREET GIVEN TO 
CONNECTICUT VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



MORGAN GIVES $10,000 



Only Condition Is That Organization Shall Raise 
$100,000 for Maintenance 

AT a meeting of the directors of the Connecticut Valley His- 
torical Society held in the Union Trust Company building 
yesterday afternoon, W. F. Adams, president, announced 
the gift to the society by the heirs of the late Daniel B. Wesson 
of the residence, 50 Maple street. The property was the home 
of Mr. Wesson, the inventor and manufacturer of the Smith & 
Wesson pistol, and was his home at the time of his decease. 
It is located on Maple street, the finest residence street in 
this city, and at the same time it is near the business center. 
The lot includes about one acre of ground. The building was 
about 10 years in process of construction and was built by 
day work. The architect was Bruce Price of New York City. 
The material is Milford pink granite — the best that could be 
secured. The workmanship throughout the construction was 
as perfect as could be maintained. The building when finished 
and furnished and as now offered as a gift to the society cost 
the sum of about $1,000,000. The only request made by the 
heirs is that the society raise the sum of $100,000, the income 
to be used to maintain the property or estate intact and place 
beyond question the ability of the society to care for it. A 
gift of $10,000 already toward this fund has been made by 
J. Pierpont Morgan of New York City, a member of the 
society. 




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The society was organized in 1876. It has a membership 
of about 300. The objects of the society are to procure and 
preserve whatever may relate to the natural, civil, military, 
ecclesiastical and genealogical history of the country, and 
especially of the territory in the Connecticut valley, and also 
to prepare and preserve correct reports of annals of passing 
events of importance. 

The gifts of the late D. B. Wesson to the city are as follows : 
Wesson Memorial Hospital, which cost ^400,000; Wesson 
Maternity Hospital, which cost ^200,000; both endowed for 

^450,000. 

The sons of Mr. Wesson, Walter H. Wesson and Joseph H. 
Wesson, have beautiful homes which were built before the 
decease of D. B. Wesson and the residence is not desired by 
either of them. Mrs. Bull, the daughter, has recently built a 
home which is much more to her liking, so that the princely 
gift is made to the Connecticut Valley Historical Society, the 
requirement being only a fund of ^100,000 to secure the per- 
fect maintenance of the property. 

The Messrs. Wesson have been great benefactors to the 
city of Springfield and, including the present proposition, 
their gifts will mount into the millions. 

The home of the Connecticut Valley Historical Society 
has been rather uncertain for a number of years and the society 
has used by sufferance, as it were, a part of the Art Museum 
building, which contains the magnificent George Walter 
Vincent Smith art collection. 

The plan is particularly pleasing to the heirs of Mr. 
Wesson, as several propositions have been made for the final 
disposition of the property, and, when this plan is completed, 
it will assure to Springfield for an indefinite time, one of the 
most beautiful buildings in Springfield, if not in all New Eng- 
land, and will provide a home for the Connecticut Valley 
Historical Society, not equaled in this country. There will 
be no changes made, and none will be necessary. 




Door^ Southwest Chamber 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 069 463 







